Automatic weighing apparatus



March 22, 1938. E. w. BLEAM 2,111,921

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet l v INVENTOR. flaiiupy.

2 ATTORNEY.

March 22, 1938. E. w. BLEAM 1 2,111,921

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 H 1 ATTORNEY.

March 22, 1938. I E. w. BLEAM 2,111,921

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

2; ,4 BY I @M M a ig 4 ATTORNEY.

March 22, 1938. w. BLEAM 2,111,921

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENT OR.

March 22, 1938.

E. w. BLEAM AUTOMATIC WEIGHING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1933 e Shets-Sheet 5 1 ATTORNEY.

March 22, 1938.

E. w. BLEAM AUTOMATIC WEIGHING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1933 6 Show-Sheets INVENTOR. C04 3 $4M =6 Ebb ATTORNEY.

Patented M... 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Stokes and Smith Company, Philadelphia,

Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 28, 1933, Serial No. 668,333

4 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for automatically weighing and delivering solid materials, such as nuts, seeds, nut meats, candies of uniform or odd shapes, short-cut macaroni or 5 spaghetti, cereals, washers, bolts, etc., of widely varying characters, sizes and shapes.

In accordance with my invention, the material may be fed by a conveyor to a chute, or equivalent, discharging into the receiving receptacle of w a scale which immediately upon attaining balance effects movement of structure, preferably a brush, to arrest material about to enter the receptacle from the chute.

In some forms of the invention, the conveyor 1 runs continuously, whereas in other forms the conveyor is stopped after the correct or nearly the correct amount has been fed to the receptacle; in a preferred form, the conveyor quickly feeds all but a few percent of the desired, weight and then stops, the exact weight being dbtained by a dribble-feed device which preferably, though not necessarily, runs continuously.

My invention also resides in the features of combination, construction and arrangement as hereinafter described and claimed.

For an understanding of my invention and for illustration of specific modifications thereof, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of weighing and delivering apparatus.

Fig. 2, on enlarged scale, and in perspective, gustlrates details of the feeding mechanism of Fig. 3 is a detail view on enlarged scale, of the driving and control apparatus for the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Fig, 3a is a modification of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3.

40 Fig. 4, in perspective, diagrammatically illustrates automatic clutch tripping mechanism.

Fig. 5, in perspective, illustrates a modification of a pedal-trip clutch.

Fig. 6 is a detail view on enlarged scale, of a 45 modified type of conveyor feed.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of parts shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 in perspective illustrates a modification of mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

50 Fig. 9 illustrates diagrammatically a pneumatic bag opening device included in Fig. 8.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the hopper H containing the material to be weighed is preferably divided, so that one stream of the as material passes through the conduit l to the main feeding device MF, and another stream passes through conduit 2 to the dribble feed mechanism DE. The outputs of these feeding devices, regulated as hereinafter described, pass into the container R of a, scale S.

The main feed device comprises the disk 3 directly below the conduit 1 of hopper H, and the conveyor belt 4, whose upper lift receives the material M from-disk'3. The telescoping end la of the conduit 1 is adjustably held as by clamp 5 at a suitable distance above the surface of the disk 3 to regulate the feed of the material M to the disk. The stationary member 6 provides a barrier preventing the material from moving off the disk except at the opening or gap 1 preferably variable in extent by adjustment of the gate member 8. The barrier members 9, lil extending in the direction of travel of the conveyor 4 form continuations of the barrier 6. At least one of them, barrier element III for example, is adjustable to permit variation of the width of the stream of material on the conveyor 4. As shown, this element may'be supported by the rods II, 12 extending through the stationary brackets l3, I4, and adjustably held as by the bolts l5, IS. The rear end of the barrier may, as indicated, be provided with an offset extension 11 to receive bolts [8 which pass through the slots IQ of the extension 20 of barrier 6.

The bracket II, and a similar bracket on the opposite side of the conveyor support the frame members 2| of the chute 22 which directs the material from the conveyor into the receptacle R. 'The chute is preferably provided with an adjustable end 23, to permit adjustment of the effective length of the chute. The main feed mechanism is driven from motor 24 as hereinafter described.

The dribble feed device comprises a disk 25 also driven from motor 24, and preferably continuously. The shaft 26 of disk 25 is journaled in the pivoted bracket 21 and connected to its driving shaft through a universal joint 29. The angle of the axis of rotation of disk 25 can therefore be adjusted by loosening the clamping bolt 30 from bracket 21, tilting the bracket to the desired position, and retightening bolt 30. The feed of the material to the disk is controllable by adjustment of the telescoping end 20. of conduit 2 which can be held in position by tightening of clamp 3|, and also by the arcuate barrier member 32 which is supported by the rod 33 adjustably held to bracket 34 by the clamping bolt 35. The disk 25 is provided with a plurality of openings 38 suitable to receive one element E of the mass of material M so that as the disk revolves underneath the accumulation or pile below the conduit 2, each of these openings will receive one element. The disk 29 revolves above and in contact with or closely adjacent to a plate 99 whose surface is unbroken except at the discharge region above the chute 91, so that the elements E within the openings 99 of disk 29 are retained until they pass above the discharge opening 99 of plate 99. The guard ring 49 is preferably attached to and rotatable with the disk 29 as this provision tends to keep the accumulation of material in agitation and facilitate the movement of elements E into the openings 39.

With the specific mechanism thus far described, the main feed is so adjusted that during the portion of the cycle for which the main feed is effective, the amount of material fed into the container R is slightly less than the amount required to effect balance of the scale 8, i.'e., a large percentage of the amount desired is received by the container R within a short space of time. The additional slight amount necessary is received from the dribble feed device which continues to add additional elements E one at a time so that the degree of accuracy is very high. The extension 29 of the chute is adjusted so that it is only slightly above the level of the material when the desired weight thereof is in the container R; this contributes to steadiness of the scale. When exactly the correct amount to obtain balance is in the receptacle R, the movement of the scale arm to balanced position effects, as through a control system hereinafter specifically described, downward movement of the gate member G, preferably a brush, to obstruct the chute 2| and prevent further flow of material.

It is not necessary to discontinue the dribble feed because the additional elements E of material, comparatively few in number, simply accumulate behind the brush G and are added to v the bulk delivered by the next operation of the main feeding device.

With the brush or gate 6 closed, the door H for the receptacle R is opened by mechanism hereinafter described to discharge the weighed material into a suitable container held below the funnel or spout42 by an operator, or transported thereto by suitable conveying mechanism.

The brush arm 43 is normally held in the raised position against the bias of spring 44 (Fig. 4) by the bar 45 which engages the finger 46 secured to shaft 440. Bar 45 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 41 which is biased for rotation from the position shown in Fig. 4 by the spring 49 but is restrained from such movement by the latch 49.

When the scale is balanced, it effects or permits closure of the contacts 59, 5| to complete a circuit including the solenoid or electromagnet 92, the movement of whose armature 59 effects tripping of the latch 49.

The release of shaft 41 for movement by spring I 49 swings the bar 45 away from finger 49 permitting the brush G to be swung by the spring 44 to discontinue the flow. The rotation of the shaft 41 also effects separation of the contacts 54, 55 to deenergize the solenoid notwithstanding continued engagement of the scale-contacts 59, 5|. The rotation of shaft 41 also moves the stop 99 out of engagement with the finger 5'I pivotally mounted upon the bracket 59 secured to shaft 69, so that spring I swings the clutch member 92 attached to or integral with finger 51 into the path of one of the abutments 69 of the driving clutch member 94 which is constantly rotated by motor 24 through the sears 95, 66, (Fig. 3) SPIOQKE W 5''.

.disk 9.

. Continued rotation of arm I3 causes the pin I4 to pass beyond the end of arm I5 whereupon the door 4I swings closed, the arm 19 continuing its rotation until the pin I4 again comes in position above arm I5.

During the latter part of the rotation of arm I9, pin I4 engages the end of a slot 9| of the member 92 pivoted to the arm 99 secured to shaft 41, so that shaft 4I is returned to the position shown in Fig. 4; the latch 49 substantially upon completion of the movement drops into position to relatch the shaft 41.

The cam 94 (Fig. 3) secured to shaft 69 engages the roller 99 secured to the upper end of the sliding member 99 whose lower end is connected to arm 91, to lift the member 99 attached to the same shaft 91a as arm 91 from the position for which it locks or prevents movement of the scale beam 99. This release of the scale beam is preferably eifected just before the beginning of the effective dribble feed, 1. e., just before completion of the main feeding period.

The cam 99 secured to shaft 99 engages the roll 9| to move the slidable bar 92 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 3, to move the latch 99 out of engagement with the clutch member 94, so that the spring 99 is effective to move the driven member 99 of the clutch, which is secured to bracket 91 held fast to the shaft 99as by pin 99. into the path of the teeth I99 of the driven clutch member I 9|. The motor 24 effects continuous drive of the driving clutch member I9I through the sprocket I92, which is secured to the same shaft as sprocket I9, chain I99, and sprocket I94. To the shaft 99 is affixed the driving roll I95 (Fig. 2)- of the conveyor belt 4, and also the gear I99 (Fig. l) which engages gear I99 on shaft I99 to drive the main feed As appears from Fig. 3, after shaft 99 has made one revolution, the finger 94 again engages the latch 99, which in the meantime has returned to its original position, whereby the driven member 96 is rocked out of engagement with the driving clutch member, to effect discontinuance of the main feed. The duration of the main feeding movement is therefore definite and fixed. The amount of material transferred during this movement is controllable by the several expedients previously described. The duration of the dribble feed on the contrary is determined solely by the apparatus itself, 1. e., the dribble feed continues until the scale is balanced. Briefly, the main feed is initiated by the cam 99 of shaft 99 and terminates when shaft 99 has made one revolution. Shaft 69 is arrested when the finger 91 engages stop 59 and its rotation is initiated when the solenoid 52 is energized, i. e., upon balance of the scale and cessation of the dribble feed. The cycle of operation repeats so long as the motor 24 remains energized. The time per cycle however, may not be constant but may vary for diiferent cycles because the initiation of each cycle is determined by the machine itself, i. e., when the proper weight is received by the container R. With apparatus of the type shown the speed of thirty weighing operations per minute is not diflicult to obtain,

although speed will vary depending upon the character of the material, the accuracy desired, and the quantity to be weighed per cycle.

Preferably and as indicated, there is a gap between the end of the conveyor 4 and the receiving end of the chute 2| which is jumped by the elements E of the mass due to their inertia. However, the broken pieces, chips, etc., being lighter, do not possess sufficient momentum and drop through the gap into a suitable waste receptacle H0. Therefore, the mechanism serves to clean the material at the same time that it is delivering it to be weighed. This is particularly of importance when the material weighed is hard candies, for the broken pieces and powder often run to a substantial percentage.

In some cases it may be desirable to modify the mechanism so that it will perform one cycle of operations and then stop, the operator tripping the machine to cause it to go through the next cycle. In this modification, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 5, the clutch finger 51 is not controlled by shaft 41 but instead engages the arm 56' connected through link III to the treadle H2. When the treadle is depressed the arm 51 is released and the machine goes through its cycle as above described and will repeat so long as the treadle is held depressed. If the treadle is depressed only momentarily the machine stops at the end of one cycle.

Where the degree of accuracy desired is not so high as to require the dribble feed, this attachment may be dispensed with, and the main feed allowed to run continuously, i. e., the mechanism shown in Fig. 3 can be converted simply by removal of the latch 93, or of course a sprocket directly connected to shaft 98 may be substituted for the clutch members. With this modification, shown in Fig. 3a with sprocket IilIa directly connected to shaft 98, the material will flow continuously off the, conveyor and will discharge into the container R. until the weight is suflicient to cause the scale beam to operate the solenoid contacts allowing the brush G to descend. The mechanism then, as above described, efl'ects discharge or the contents of the container, by opening door 4|; the door is subsequently reclosed and the cycle repeats upon lifting of brush G. Because the main conveyor continues to run while the brush G is down, when the brushis next lifted there is at first discharge of a considerable accumulation, and thereafter the rate of discharge is that of the conveyor belt.

With the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the dribble feed is again dispensed with, and the main conveyor 4 is stopped each time the desired weight is obtained. With this modification the rate of discharge into the receptacle is constant, and is not for each weighing, first substantially high, and thereafter at much lower rate. The elements having the same purpose or construction as in the preceding modifications are identifiedby like reference characters. The principal difference between this modification and those previously described is that the clutch controlling the rotation of shaft 98 is of the friction type and is directly controlled from the balanced scale rather than through shaft 60. The drive for shaft 98 includes the sprocket Illa rotatable withsprocket 10. The driven clutch member H4 is normally held out of engagement with the driving clutch member H5. One end of the bell crank lever H6, which is pivoted to the bracket II! of the frame of the machine, is

provided with rollers H8 which extend into the groove H9 of the driven clutch member, and to the other arm of the lever is pivoted the link I29 connecting to the arm I2I which is fastened to shaft 41. The operation of the modification is believed clear in view of the preceding description. Briefly, when the shaft 41 is released, as above described, the link I20 is moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. '7, to withdraw the driven clutch member I I4 from the driving clutch member H5 to stop feeding movement of the conveyor. Simultaneously, as above described, the brush G descends to stop the material which has left the belt and is in the chute.

In Fig. 8 is shown another type of dribble feed suitable for use with any of the arrangements previously described. The trough I20 which receives material from the conduit 2a of a hopper, or equivalent, is resiliently supported by the flexible plates I2I for vibration by the solenoid or electromagnet I22 energized by alternating or pulsating current.

The shaking or vibration of the trough effects movement of the material toward the open or discharge end for delivery of a small stream of material to chute 22 so that in general, it performs the same function as the dribble feed device DF of preceding modifications. The rate of feed can be varied by adjustment of the amplitude of vibration, for example the screw I 23 can be manipulated to vary the air gap between the magnet I22 and its armature carried or formed by the central plate IN, the pointer I24 indicating the amplitude adjustment. Specifically, the electromagnet I22 may 'be adjusted angularly about a pivot to change the air gap.

Preferably, the vibrating conveyor operates 50 long as tne weighing machine is in operation, for example, the solenoid I22 may be energized concurrently with energization of motor 24.

In Figs. 8 and 9, there is also shown a modification of the structure for directing the weighed amounts of material to the bags to be filled. In many instances the bags are flat or collapsed and must be opened before they receive the Weighed material. The speed of operation of the weighing device described is so high that it is practically impossible if the machine is running as a full-automatic device, for an operator to open the bags quickly enough to get them in position before door M is operated by the self-tripping mechanism of the machine. Cellophane bags in particular are diflicult to open because the edges of the open end are flush and not provided with any offset or notch to facilitate their separation for opening of the mouth of the bag.

The blower I25, suitably driven as by motor I26, delivers a stream of air through duct I21 and pipe I28 to the funnel 42a which is provided with a plate I29 for directing the stream toward the discharge end or nose I30.

The amount of air issuing from the open or bag-receiving end of the nose I30 can be regulated, as by varying the position of the by-pass damper I 3| having operating handle I32.

As soon as the operator positions a bag below the nose I30 by holding it loosely in substantially upright position, the air blast immediately distends the bag for reception of material as soon as door 4I opens. With this attachment, an operator can readily keep pace with the machine for there is ample time in the cycle for an operator to reach for a bag and move it beneath the nose I30.

This arrangement for opening the bags may be used with any of the other preceding modifications of Figs. 1 to 7.

In general, although I have illustrated preferred forms of my automatic weighing apparatus, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited thereto but is co-extensive in scope with the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic weighing machine comprising a scale, a conveyor for feeding material to said scale, clutch mechanism operable when tripped to eflect a predetermined movement of said conveyor, structure movable toward and from scale-locking position, clutch mechanism operable when tripped to eflect a predetermined movement during which it trips said first clutch mechanism, and first moves said structure to scale-locking position and then away from said position, and ineans responsive to balance of the scale for tripping said second clutch mechanism.

2. A weighing machine including a scale having a receptacle for receiving solid material for weighing, conveyor means operative once for each cycle of the machine to feed at high rate to said receptacle for a fixed time, means (or interrupting operation oi. said conveyor at the end of said fixed time whereby the amount of material progressively delivered to said receptacle and accumulated therein is insufilcient to effect balance,

continuously operating means for feeding mate-' rial at low rate to said receptacle, and structure disposed out of the path oi said material to said receptacle during operation of said conveyor means and movable to obstruct said path in response to balance of the scale. I

' 3. An automatic weighing machine comprising a scale, means .for feeding a stream oi. material to said scale comprising a conveyor and an inclined chute therefrom, brush structure, means for biasing said brush structure toward a position at which it dams the stream at the discharge end of the chute, a shaft, means for biasing said shaft to one position, a latch restraining movement of said shaft by said biasing means, a member connected to shaft and operable when said shaft is in its restrained position to prevent movement of said brush structure by its biasing means, a clutch comprising separable members, a member on said shaft preventing, when said shaft is in said restrained position engagement of said clutch members, lost-motion means operated by said clutch during engagement of said clutch members to move said shaft to its restrained position and said brush structure away from its chute-damming position, and means responsive to balance oi said scale for releasing said latch to permit movement oi said shaft by its biasing means to release said brush structure for movement by its biasing means and to effect engagement of said separable clutch members.

4. An automatic weighing machine suited for materials of widely diiierent characters, sizes and shapes comprising a hopper for said material, a

revolvingdisk below said hopper, a scale having a receptacle, a door for said receptacle, a conveyor belt adjacent the edge of said disc to feed a stream of material therefrom toward said scale receptacle, brush structure movable to a position at which it dams said stream on said conveyor, automatic means operative during its cycle to open said door, to close said door, and in move said brush structure from said damming position, and means responsive to balance of said scale eflecting movement oi said brush structure to said damming position and to initiate the cycle of said automatic means, said automatic means including delayed-action mechanism providing for opening of said door, discharge of the receptacle contents, and reciosure of said door while said brush structure is in damming position, and for movement ofsaid brush structure from said damming position when said door is reclosed.

EDGAR W. BLEAM. 

